An Exploratory Study of Irrational Career Belief Constructs

Abstract

This exploratory study examines irrational career belief constructs. A semi-structured interview was conducted with five university students who did not obtain successful job offers despite their employment-seeking activities. Based on this data, the analysis constructed six categories: disvalued as a human being, concealed identity, futility of employment-seeking activities, ease in getting job offers, dependence on circumstances, and respect for applicants. In addition, the relationships between these categories and Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy’s (REBT’s) classification of irrational beliefs as“absolute demands,”“awfulizing,”“depreciation,”and “discomfort intolerance”were examined. Five categories were directly related to employment-seeking activities, therefore, intervention is necessary to help students understand and accept the real conditions and circumstances in the job-hunting market. The category of “disvalued as a human being” was associated with REBT’s unconditional self-acceptance which should be understood from a perspective of life career support. The implications of this study could be used as information to help develop a technique and an assessment tool to intervene irrational career beliefs for career support and career counseling based on REBT method.